EXOD181 The passages in Deuteronomy (6:4-9, 11:13-21) that entered the Jewish liturgy as part of the Shema enjoined parents to teach the words of the Torah diligently and constantly to their children. (Kiddushin 29a). The Passover Seder focuses more on pedagogy then on ritual. It is an opportunity "to tell your child" (this verse) the story of the Exodus, i.e.., To convey to the child a sense of who he or she is, where he or she comes from, what is her or her spiritual heritage. What is at stake in the parent's teaching the child the constituent of moral teachings of tradition is the future of moral disposition of the child. The quality of one's "parenting" becomes manifested through the activities of one's child… More is at stake in parental pedagogy than the moral disposition of the child. The very existence and continuity of Jewish tradition, and the stability of society at large, are also at risk. For example, the thirteenth-century Jewish philosopher, Gersonides, considered the family to be the most fundamental political unit of society, upon which larger political units, such as cities and nations, are based. When the family functions as a conduit of moral values, the larger society gains stability. When it does not, the larger society becomes morally imperiled. Levi Ben Gerson Commentary on the Torah, 2 vols, (Venice, 1547) [Hebrew], on Exodus 20:12. 5 According to Joseph Albo, because the family serves as the essential vehicle through which tradition is perpetuated, the very existence of Judaism is vested in the pedagogic abilities of each parent to transmit moral and religious teachings to the child. Sefer ha-Ikkarim-The Book of Principles, 6 vols., Isaac Husik, trans. (Philadelphia: PS, 1946), vol. 3, chap. 26, pp 251-252). In this view, what is at stake in parental pedagogy is the future of moral disposition of the child, the perpetuation of something of the parents in the future behavior of the child, Shabbat 127a (bottom); Pesahim 1113a (bottom), the moral and sociopolitical stability of society at large, and the continuity and perpetuation of the tradition that offers meaning and moral coherence to the lives of both the parent and the child.